Harry Reid on Principles & Values

Democratic Sr Senator (NV)

Tea Party will disappear as soon as the economy gets better

Where is the Tea Party headed? The question was posed to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, when he appeared on the NBC program "Meet the Press" on January 9, 2011.
Just a couple of months earlier, Reid had surmounted a well-funded and nationally touted challenge by GOP senate candidate Sharron Angle. "She was Tea Party backed, a Tea Party candidate," observed the
NBC host David Gregory. "Do she and others, as part of this Tea Party, represent a lasting force in American politics?"
Reid was characteristically blunt in response. "The Tea Party will disappear as soon as the economy gets better," he declared. "And the economy's getting better all the time."

Son of a miner; mother took in wash from brothels

Angle's rap on Reid is that he's a creature of big-government Washington, out of touch with average Nevadans.

"Senator Reid has been a politician for over 30 years," Angle began. "I live in a middle-class neighborhood in Reno, Nevada. Senator Reid live
in the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C."

That might particularly rankle Nevadans who now suffer with the highest unemployment and foreclosure rates in the country.

But Reid, the son of a miner, tried to show he knew what it was like to suffer through
tough times--like when he was growing up in the tiny town of Searchlight. Lean times sound different in Nevada than they do in other parts of the country, though.

"Times were tough. The mines weren't doing well at all. My mom took in wash from the
brothels in Searchlight so I have some idea of what it's like to struggle," Reid said.

If you'd decided to play a drinking game and take a swig every time Reid called his opponent extreme, you'd have quite the hangover this morning.

2007: Encouraged Obama to run; race would be an asset

Years later, Reid would claim that he was steadfastly neutral in the 2008 races; that he never chose sides between Barack and Hillary; that all he did was tell Obama that "he could be president," that "the stars could align for him." But at the time, in
truth, his encouragement of Obama was unequivocal. He was wowed by Obama's oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama--a "light-skinned" Africa American "with no
Negro dialect. Unless he wanted to have one," as he later put it privately.

Reid was convinced, in fact, that Obama's race would help him more than hurt him in a bid for the Democratic nomination. He argued that
Obama's lack of experience might not be crippling; it might actually be an asset, allowing him to cast himself as a figure uncorrupted and unco-opted by evil Washington, without the burdens of countless Senate votes and floor speeches.

Voted with Democratic Party 95.1% of 326 votes.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), was scored by the Washington Post on the percentage of votes on which a lawmaker agrees with the position taken by a majority of his or her party members. The scores do not include missed votes.
Their summary:Voted with Democratic Party 95.1% of 326 votes.Overall, Democrats voted with their party 88.4% of the time, and Republicans voted with their party 81.7% of the time (votes Jan. 8 through Sept. 8, 2007).

Source: Washington Post, “US Congress Votes Database”
, Sep 8, 2007

Voted YES on confirming of Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court.

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee kicked off the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. In her opening statement, Judge Sotomayor pledged a "fidelity to the law:"

"In the past month, many Senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. It is simple: fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make the law--it is to apply the law. And it is clear, I believe, that my record in two courts reflects my rigorous commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its terms; interpreting statutes according to their terms and Congress's intent; and hewing faithfully to precedents established by the Supreme Court and my Circuit Court. In each case I have heard, I have applied the law to the facts at hand."

Religious affiliation: Latter-day Saint.

Reid : religious affiliation:

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What’s an adherent?

The most common definition used in broad compilations of statistical data is somebody who claims to belong to or worship in a religion. This is the self-identification method of determining who is an adherent of what religion, and it is the method used in most national surveys and polls.

Such factors as religious service attendance, belief, practice, familiarity with doctrine, belief in certain creeds, etc., may be important to sociologists, religious leaders, and others. But these are measures of religiosity and are usually not used academically to define a person’s membership in a particular religion. It is important to recognize there are various levels of adherence, or membership within religious traditions or religious bodies. There’s no single definition, and sources of adherent statistics do not always make it clear what definition they are using.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
AU is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans.

Americans United is a national organization with members in all 50 states. We are headquartered in Washington, D.C., and led by the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director. AU has more than 75,000 members from all over the country. They include people from all walks of life and from various faith communities, as well as those who profess no particular faith. We are funded by donations from our members and others who support church-state separation. We do not seek, nor would we accept, government funding.

Rated 0% by the AU, indicating support of separation of church & state.

Reid scores 0% Americans United for the Separation of Church and State

Scoring system for 2014: Ranges from 0% (supports separation of church & state) to 100% (opposed to separation of church & state).

About the AU (from their website, www.au.org):Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) is a religious liberty watchdog group. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom. AU is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans.

Americans United fights for church-state separation of a wide variety of fronts. Here are some of the issues we work on. We encourage you learn more about each of them. Knowledge is power.

Religion in Public Schools and Universities

Creationism & Evolution

School Prayer

Bibles and Religious Texts in Curricula

Student Religious Clubs

Religious Music

Religious Displays and Holidays

Pledge of Allegiance

Use of School Buildings by Religious Groups

The Faith-Based Initiative & Government Subsidies of Religious Institutions